An Ascended's Journey

Logan dreamt of a ruined city.

Modern in nature, a city sprawled on for as far as the eye. Well, as far as one could see with a strange fog covering the area, but not even the fog could hide the destruction. Skyscrapers, pagodas, shrines, and traditional homes were destroyed and abandoned. A once thriving city with a deep culture was left as a husk of itself.

The city was silent: no people, animals, bugs, or even a living plant in sight. It was an eerie sight to behold. 

Suddenly, the sun dropped from the sky, and the moon rose. Soon the fog retreated into the center of the city and the buildings began building themselves back up. An explosion reverted in on itself and the city had become reconstructed. Below him, the megacity began flowing in reverse becoming smaller and smaller. People in the city moved faster and faster in reverse as the modern infrastructure of the city disappeared. 

Logan looked down upon the city as time began moving back faster and faster. The city surrounded by mountains began losing all of its modern buildings as traditional houses and more primitive buildings appeared. Down below, there lay an ancient town that stretched on with rock roads and more primitive houses. Buildings like pagodas and large dojos became more noticeable as the large concrete buildings reversed away. Soon an ancient version of the city had come into view. A large town spanning for miles. 

Time started to turn back slower until it eventually stopped, and then time resumed normally. 

[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Trial…]

Logan opened his eyes to what seemed like an entirely different world.

Everything was different. Logan sat in the center of an expansive room. The floor was made of a yellow matted straw and the walls were made of a dark colored wood with ornate designs across the walls. Light flooded the room from the strange lattice windows below the edge of the tall ceiling. They seemed to have been made of many squares put together and covered with paper. It allowed light through and still supported the ceiling. It was unlike any—

'—Wait a minute. This looks like a dojo?' Looking around, Logan spotted strange ink drawings covering the walls of the dojo, and weapons racked along another wall. He could even see a set of Samurai armor in the corner. Straight in front of Logan was a unique lattice doorway; It was covered in that light material. Logan pondered over the effectiveness of the thin building material.

Below Logan laid two beautifully ornate wooden scabbards. 

They were pristine with black strings attached to the tops of the scabbards. The handles of each blade were made of dark brown leather capped with some form of metal cap. The longer blade had a small circular guard where the blade and scabbard met, while the shorter sword seamlessly fit into the scabbard making it look like the ornate wood and dark leather were one item. (Katana and Wakizashii)

'This must be a dream!' It was too good to be true. Logan had found himself in one of the coolest places on earth. 

Reaching toward the sword, Logan stopped in shock. 'No way!' Logan thought. He looked down to see the coolest outfit ever.

It was a loose-fitting silk outfit. The short arms sleeves seemed to fold from the excessive amount of silk and looking down Logan realized he was sitting on his knees.

Logan stood up and checked out his outfit in its full glory. Logan lay draped in an elegant silk outfit straight from some Asian culture. The waist of his outfit was tight against his skin while the upper half only became taunt in the chest areas. The sleeves were so open and free and flapped around as he shook his arms. 

Turning around Logan spotted a small shrine with a single white candle. It was strange. 'What was all that weird crap in the beginning?' Have I gone back in time? Heck, this could be a dream or even a hallucination. Even this whole dojo situation is weird. Why would I be sitting towards the door when there was a shrine behind me? This must be a dream, right?.'

Logan looked at his finger and debated if he should bite it. 'I don't... think you can feel pain in dreams.' Logan pondered it for a moment, looking at his finger, when he suddenly had an even scarier realization.

'MY SKIN!' Logan screamed in his head. His fingers were still slender and long, but the tone of his skin had darkened into a more peachy and yellowish tone. His pale skin no longer adorned his body. 'Oh god, is this even my body? What am I even asking? Of course, this isn't my body."

Logan frantically grabbed the scabbard and pulled the longer blade. For a moment, he felt a spark of something, but he quickly ignored it to inspect himself using what he thought was a katana. 

Looking at himself through the distorted reflection, Logan realized he had changed quite a bit. He still had blue eyes and blonde hair, but his eyes were more narrow and his hair was tied in a bun. Logan's skin while being a slightly darker shade had overall healthier skin. Well, if Logan could even claim this skin as his own.

'God this is so weird. Do I even have the imagination for this? I wonder... Is it the same?' Logan had a moment of dread but shook it off. Logan couldn't afford to take off the stupid outfit he was wearing. There was no telling how he could get this thing back on. 'It's better that I focus on other things for now.'

Logan slowly stopped admiring himself as he focused on the blade itself. The nice leather grip and the pristine one-sided edge. As he played with his grip, light reflected off the sword's sharp blade.

'This must be a katana. It just feels like it. What if I just—"

Logan swung the sword upward and then downward. Using the blade made him feel like he was coming back to school after summer break. 

'I'm Genji!' Smiling, he grasped the pommel of the katana and its handle. Then he lowered his body and took a lowered stance "Ryujin no ken wo kurae!" Logan screamed out the phrase and chopped forward with the blade swinging down and swinging it back up. 

Logan then played around with the sword for a bit slashing into the air and cutting down invisible enemies in his head. Out of breath, Logan finally put the sword back into its scabbard and laid it near the other sword. Tired, Logan sat down on the floor in the knee position. 'It's kinda uncomfortable, but it looks so cool. I think this is... Japan? I know I'm not the most educated on Asian cultures, but how many cultures can have samurai armor?' 

Panting, Logan thought back to his earlier theory of biting his finger. During his little fun, it felt like he was pushing his muscles and moving a real body. Looking at his fingers once again, Logan bit his thumb. 'It does hurt… Can you feel pain in dreams? Is this a dream or real?' 

Logan tried to rack his brain for what could be happening; footsteps started sounding outside the thin door. Soon, the silhouettes of people approached his door. 'I just realized I'm barefoot! 

Logan sighed

'Well, it's not like they can see my feet in this awkward sitting position.'

The lattice doors of the dojo were slid open and Logan was in even more awe.

Standing at the doorway were three soldiers equipped with armor covering ornate armor covering their thighs, chest, and shoulders. It seemed to be made from leather, while they had helmets that surrounded the tops of their heads and had small flaps around the back. The soldier in the center had a katana scabbard attached to the belt while the soldier on the left carried a long spear with a curved blade at the end(Naginata). The soldier on the right carried a spear, but it had a long point and a thin curved edge coming out the base of the metal spear bit(Yari). 

'Are these samurai? No, they can't be. Their armor doesn't look as heavy-duty or cool. It just looks like they cover the essentials. Damm, these guys look awesome even if they aren't samurai.'

The soldiers slowly removed their straw sandals and stepped up onto the straw matting.

'What is happening?' Logan felt a thrum of emotions through him: Amazement and curiosity, but also anxiety, fear, and confusion. 

In unison, the group of warriors dropped to their knees and bowed to the floor. 

The guard in the center called out, "Respected Sensei! We urgently need your guidance and help in defending this city. Your wisdom and expertise are needed to defend the emperor's palace." 

'...What! This is so awkward. Do I have to call him by a title too? God, I wish I had paid attention to history class or done some more research. What am I even gonna say? Argiato? Wait a minute, how can I even understand him?'

"We will provide food and room as well as provide a reward in accordance with your help, great master."

Logan sat there in silence deciding if he should act like a cool master or ask for more information. 'I shouldn't be too rash. Maybe, I died when I went to sleep and I got reincarnated? That could explain the changed body and seemingly new world. Or would it be more apt to call it Old World? It does seem to match some Japan pretty closely. It seems that something else is going on as well. This is supposed to be some trial? For what? Or why?' 

Logan tried to match their bow and began speaking in his most respectful tone, " Yes, I could be... persuaded to join your cause if you could give me all the details of the current situation." 

"Man, I don't think I'm doing any of this right. Am I even supposed to bow? I had to pause to find a word for convince too! And again! How can I even understand what they're saying? It's like they're speaking English, but if I focus enough, I can tell they are talking in another language. It's so trippy.'

The Soldiers all came up from their bows in confused glances. The soldier in the front face furrowed and he continued speaking courteously, "Respected Sensei, as you know, the rebels have risen against the great Ashikaga Shogunate. We believe your presence at the Imperial Palace will be of great value to the True Ashikaga Shongunate's will. If you are not satisfied with the future favor of the True Shogunate, then we could provide you with a countryside estate."

The estate didn't matter to Logan, but what did was these soldiers' age. Logan looked over the soldiers again now that they were standing and was almost shocked by how young they looked. 'These guys look like high schoolers! It also seems like I'm really in the past. I don't know if this happened in history or not, but it seems plausible.'

As Logan's internal rant ended, he got angry at this unfortunate circumstance. 'This has to do with the Nightmare Spell. I could hear and see these messages in the real world and somehow it is making all of this happen now. Did it turn back time?'

Logan shook his head.

'It doesn't matter. This is some trial. The war going on here has to do something with it.' 

Logan continued trying to piece together the broken puzzle pieces of knowledge he had acquired until he was interrupted. 

The young soldier in the center with his katana solemnly and respectfully spoke, " Respected Elder, we have been commanded to recruit you for the war effort for your great wisdom and skill, but we may understand if you need more time to make your decision. We may only request that you do not try to join the rebel nobles."

To the older boy's left his comrade spoke something into his ear silently. Anger flashed across both their faces as they silently argued. Soon, the third boy joined the argument as they whispered to each other. 

'It seems I might be forced to join a side in this war. I could run, but what will happen if I fail this trial? So many damn questions!' 

Logan felt forced to take initiative, but indecision still gripped him. Coughing to get the boys' attention, Logan tried to act as esteemed as possible, "Yes… uh, young soldiers. It would be to my most…"

Logan covered his mouth and coughed and cleared his throat.

"It would be my pleasure to join sides with… the Ashikaga Clan?"

Logan's heart cried out in pain from how stupid he sounded. He felt so awkward sometimes talking, but it seemed that he had fixed the problem. The boys had separated from each other and assumed their trio position again. Although the boy who had brought the group into the whisper glared at him like a judgy homeless person. It seems something in their conversation had made him angry. 

The young soldier in the front almost glowed from the words and immediately bowed to Logan, "Thank you for assistance, respected elder. If you would…"

The soldier, looking even further into the floor, clasps his hands in a prayer-like motion. "We would love the chance to escort a Respected elder such as yourself… to the Imperial palace?"

The boy lay bowed for a moment as Logan sighed internally. 'What is with these guys? The only guy even maintaining eye contact seems clearly agitated and the bowing seems so unnecessary. 

"Yes… I would love to have you escort me."

Logan picked up the scabbards from the floor and took a second to figure out how to put them away. Getting a moment of inspiration from the way the soldier had carried his sword, Logan slid the long ornate scabbard into the left side of his waist and then looked up to the soldier again. The soldier had it in his belt but also tied it onto his belt with a string attached to his Scabbard. Logan looked down to his Scabbard which had a black string attached to the top and tied a tight knot around his waist to try and keep it secured. Logan then grabbed his other shorter sword and tied it over to his right side. This time he completed the task more swiftly without the need to look up. 

Logan had got up and went off towards the door. In his mind, Logan had a mix of emotions running across his mind, but one trumped all others—Adventure! Logan, even given his doubts, was excited to explore a world he could only ever dream of. Maybe, this was a dream, but it didn't matter. Something far worse lurked in the real world, so would it be so selfish for Logan to stay here a little longer?

Logan had picked a pair of sandals and the soldiers had prepared themselves to exit. Logan breathed a heavy breath as anxiousness and excitement built. The light soon flooded into Logan's eyes as the guard opened the lattice doors. 

Logan then exited the doors into a new world.